Waiting for gigs to return during this pandemic is a bit like clapping furiously after the band has left the stage, before the lights go up. No one knows if the musicians are coming back or how long we may have to wait to find out. As the audience roars, feet stomp and hands get sore, we hysterically assure ourselves \u2013 it can\u2019t really be over! But how long are we going to have to wait? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today marks eight months and 28 days since I last attended a gig. If that sounds like the introduction at a rehab meeting, I can assure you, gigs are a habit I definitely don\u2019t want to quit. Contrary to my wishes (and perhaps yours, dear gig-parched reader) the pandemic has all but pressed the pause button on live music for most of us who regularly (or fanatically, or even just occasionally) attend shows. Whether it was the local pub\u2019s weekend knees-up, small intense club tours, grand music halls, laser-strewn arenas, big bucks stadiums or festivals of all shapes and sizes, we are all trying to crawl through these deafeningly quiet months without that edifying communal experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I feel incredulous looking over my shoulder today on such a barren audio desert behind me. To turn back and contemplate the eerily still horizon ahead, is yet more bleak, littered as it is with the stubs of ticket refunds, screens sticking out of the sand flickering with the weak promise of a streamed performance from a band\u2019s living room on the other side of the world. If I\u2019d have known it was The Last Gig back in February, I wouldn\u2019t have wasted the best part of two songs queuing at the bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As tours continue to be postponed and the last weeks of this pandemic year roll on, it\u2019s a good time to ponder how we survive this previously unthinkable gig-less life\u2026stay tuned!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photograph:<\/strong> Faith No More at the Roundhouse in London in 2015. This view from the balcony captures the moment the crowd raises the rafters at the end of the band’s set. \u00a9 Imelda Michalczyk<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Waiting for gigs to return during this pandemic is a bit like clapping furiously after the band has left the stage, before the lights go up. No one knows if the musicians are coming back or how long we may have to wait to find out. As the audience roars, feet stomp and hands get sore, we hysterically assure ourselves \u2013 it can\u2019t really be over! But how long are we going to have to wait? Today marks eight months and 28 days since I last attended a gig. If that sounds like the introduction at a rehab meeting, I can assure you, gigs are a habit I definitely don\u2019t want to quit. Contrary to my wishes (and perhaps yours, dear gig-parched reader) the pandemic has all but pressed the pause button on live music for most of us who regularly (or fanatically, or even just occasionally) attend shows. Whether it was the local pub\u2019s weekend knees-up, small intense club tours, grand music halls, laser-strewn arenas, big bucks stadiums or festivals of all shapes and sizes, we are all trying to crawl through these deafeningly quiet months without that edifying communal experience. I feel incredulous looking over my shoulder today on such a barren audio desert behind me. To turn back and contemplate the eerily still horizon ahead, is yet more bleak, littered as it is with the stubs of ticket refunds, screens sticking out of the sand flickering with the weak promise of a streamed performance from a band\u2019s living room on the other side of the world. If I\u2019d have known it was The Last Gig back in February, I wouldn\u2019t have wasted the best part of two songs queuing at the bar. As tours continue to be postponed and the last weeks of this pandemic year roll on, it\u2019s a good time to ponder how we survive this previously unthinkable gig-less life\u2026stay tuned! Photograph: Faith No More at the Roundhouse in London in 2015. This view from the balcony captures the moment the crowd raises the rafters at the end of the band’s set. \u00a9 Imelda Michalczyk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[28,25,11],"class_list":["post-654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gigs","tag-concerts","tag-gigs","tag-music"],"yoast_head":"\n